It was the MAE WEST motion picture, “Belle of the Nineties” [1934] that helped Joe Breen consolidate his position as an administrator, according to the authors of “The Dame in the Kimono.” What a fascinating insider’s look. This is Part 2 of 9 parts.
• • Mae West: Her opinion of “Belle” • •
• • Leff and Simmons wrote: “Belle of the Nineties” would become the last Mae West picture to escape the full force of the Breen scissors.
• • Leff and Simmons wrote: In June 1934, with even some industry supporters exasperated with Hollywood, Breen drove to the Melrose Avenue studios to meet with Emanuel Cohen, William LeBaron, and three other Paramount officials.
• • Mae West said “Belle” was “not a good story” • •
• • Leff and Simmons wrote: Despite the purported script changes, the picture remained a warm broth of sex, crime, and Mae West that Breen told the producers he could not and would not approve.
• • Mae West: Manny Cohen agreed to consider revisions • • …
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: “The Dame in the Kimono: Hollywood, Censorship, and the Production Code” by Leonard J. Leff and Jerold L. Simmons [University Press of Kentucky, Paperback; 6 July 2001].
• • On Friday, 12 April 1929 in The N.Y. Daily News • •
• • In her popular syndicated column "Texas Guinan Says" Texas had playfully mentioned her friend: "Mae's a good girl at heart — — but she's got a bad heart."
• • Source: The New York Daily News, on Friday, 12 April 1929.
• • On Saturday, 12 April 1930 • •
• • The Wall Street crash in 1929 destroyed the financial security of many families in the entertainment industry. Broadway star Mae West entertained in New York City at the Give-a-Job Benefit on Saturday, 12 April 1930 with many other well-known performers.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • "Record N.Y. Paramount Run" • •
• • By holding over for a fifth week, Mae West's "Goin' to Town" sets the long-run record at the New York Paramount, it was pointed out yesterday by Moris Morros, managing director. Previous record of four weeks also was held by a Mae West film: "I'm No Angel."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I have been a legend from the very beginning of my career."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A Madera, California paper reviewed a film starring Mae West.
• • Madera Theatre: Mae West on Same Program • •
• • "Venez me voir, comme ci, comme ca, quelque fois.”
• • In English it’s just plain old, “Come up and see me some time.” But in her latest picture, “Every Day’s a Holiday," Mae West is Mademoiselle Fifi, an importation fresh from the music halls of Paris who sweeps New York off its feet.
• • Mae this time is a dark-haired belle of La Belle France, speaking the language of the Boulevardiers, doing a scene from "Camille” after the manner of the divine Sarah Bernhardt, representing the land of the Arc de Triomphe, Lafayette, the Champs Elysees, and the Popular Front!
• • But Fifi is only a disguise for Mae, the toast of the Bowery, whose habit of selling the Brooklyn Bridge brings her into conflict with the New York police. …
• • Source: The Madera Daily Tribune; published on Thursday, 7 April 1938
• • The evolution of 2 Mae West plays that keep her memory alive • •
• • A discussion with Mae West playwright LindaAnn LoSchiavo — —
• • http://lideamagazine.com/renaissance-woman-new-york-city-interview-lindaann-loschiavo/
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 17th anniversary • •
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past seventeen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,900 blog posts. Wow!
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seventeen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,970th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • poster in 1934 • •
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